The University of Toledo Libraries

Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections

University of Toledo Archives

Collegiate Gothic Style

The Gothic style was promoted by architect Ralph Adams Cram for college campuses of the early 20th century. As Cram wrote in 1914, Collegiate
Gothic "return(s) step by step to the old idea ls and sound methods of English colleges...return(s), even in a wider sense, to those eternally
battered but eternally enduring principles in life and thought and aspiration which make up the great Anglo-Saxon heritage."

Cram's Gothic Revival movement was inspired by the same ideals that fueled the great Gothic movement of the 12th century. Like his earlier
counterparts, Cram saw Gothicism as a revolt against the symmetry, order and simplicity of classicism. Cram had great disdain for the three evils
"Reformation, Renaissance, and Revolution" and disliked the classical and secular academic architecture embodied by Thomas Jefferson's University
of Virginia. He believed art, religion and education were inseparable. Cram himself designed college buildings at Princeton and West Point and
inspired similar works at the University of Chicago and Duke University. Clearly his work had great influence on the Toledo firm of Mills,
Rhines, Bellman and Nordhoff, Inc. and its University Hall design.

1. University Hall

Tomany, University Hall is The University of Toledo. Since its completion, it has been one of the most recognizable structures in Toledo. The first
building on the new campus, it is one of best examples of the collegiate brand of Tudor Gothic Revival in the country.

University Hall was built by 400 men in 11 months. It is constructed from 50,000 tons of Wisconsin Lannon and Indiana limestone, the same building
materials used in almost all UT buildings from that time on. The building is 63 feet tall, complemented by an impressive 205-foot tower. Since
its construction, the building has undergone extensive interior renovation, but its exterior has changed little.

Features to note:

Asymmetrical front facade. Typical of the Romantic's rebellion against order.

Pointed arch doorways. Similar to the Gothic cathedrals of Europe.

Battlements. This cut-out roofline design on the small flanking towers is similar to the design used in English castles for defense purposes.

Stone lace-like ornamentation. The stonework at the top of the tower is similar to that adorning the spires of Europe's cathedrals.

Statuary niches. The building has numerous niches for statues like those used for religious icons in churches. There is no evidence that
statues were ever made for these niches.

Ornamentation. Symbols of the branches of learning (music, literature, mathematics, and pharmacy) are carved in the doors of the main
entrance immediately above, and the blockhouse symbolized UT's connection to the City of Toledo. Gargoyles like those used to ward off evil
spirits in cathedrals adorn numerous nooks, including four that protrude from the tower 200 feet above the entrance. Numerous romanticized
symbols on the ceiling outside and leaflike ornamentation inside Doermann Theater should be noted.

Main entrance doors. Modeled after Dareway Hall, a 16th-Century English mansion.

Courtyards like those in the east and west wings of the building are common in European universities.

2. Field House

The second building on the new campus, the Field House served as the gymnasi um. While primarily utilitarian, it displays some of the same Gothic
feature s as University Hall. In addition to being used for physical education class es, the Field House has been used for the University's
basketball games; as a concert hall; and for large assemblies, including commencement ceremonies. Since the opening of Centennial Hall (now
Savage Hall) in 1976, the Field House has been largely unused and is in need of repair.

Features to note:

Battlements along rooflines.

Tower-like entryway. The entrance appears almost as a shortened University Hall tower.

Protruding supports. If these supports surrounding the building were extended outward, they would look like the flying buttresses used to
support the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe.

Central bay window. Bay windows are common Gothic features.

3. Scott, Libbey and Tucker Halls

Architects: Gerow and Conklin Date completed: 1935 Cost: $250,000

The first residential buildings on campus were, coincidentally, designed by an architectural firm know primarily for its residential structures.
Gerow and Conklin designed many of the homes in the Old Orchard and Ottawa Hills areas. The funds for construction came from the government's
Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and work was done by Works Progress Administration employees. Scott and Tucker halls housed faculty and
the University president. Later the buildings were used by sororities and fraternities. Libbey Hall was built as the first Student Union, with
the top floors serving as a dormitory. The buildings are now used for offices and the University Club in Libbey Hall.

Features to note:

Slightly pointed arched doorways.

Tudor-like half timbering.

Residential-like design. Unlike the "great building" design of University Hall and the Field House, Scott, Libbey and Tucker look much like
homes. The peaks of the roofs slope near to the ground, bringing the buildings closer to human proportions.

Pointed dormer windows.

Small tower-like protrusions on Scott and Tucker.

4. Gillham Hall

Opposite the Scott, Tucker, and Libbey complex on the front campus green is Gillham Hall. While built some 20 years after the first UT structures,
it continues the Gothic tradition in many ways. However, the modern influence is beginning to be seen with simpler, cleaner lines; less
ornamentation; and a growing emphasis on the horizontal over the vertical. Built to house the University library and College of Law, today the
building is primarily used for University offices.

Features to note:

Peaked roof design is seen in some areas, but flat roofs are becoming more prominent.

Pointed archways reflect Gothic tradition.

Bay windows remain as a design element, but have been simplified. The sides are not angled.